vivster said:This could be interesting, it could also be absolutely nothing. We need to hear more demands. If he actually wanted reunification he could just open the border.

I tend to look to defectors and such for their understanding of the regime... that spy who famously blew up a plane a couple decades ago (to prevent the Olympics in South Korea from taking place) and survived a cyanide capsule believes this is entirely an attempt to drive a wedge between South Korea and its allies and nothing more. The various Kim's have always been concerned entirely with, first, maintaining their regime, and second, finding a way for their regime to unite and control all of Korea.

I trust her assessment. North Korea is feeling cornered and trying to force some distance between South Korea and its allies. So long as that violent sociopath who reportedly uses dogs as a means of execution and has showed no trepidation about murdering his own family is in charge, all North Korean actions must be looked at with his personality and psyche in mind.

vivster said:This could be interesting, it could also be absolutely nothing. We need to hear more demands. If he actually wanted reunification he could just open the border.

I tend to look to defectors and such for their understanding of the regime... that spy who famously blew up a plane a couple decades ago (to prevent the Olympics in South Korea from taking place) and survived a cyanide capsule believes this is entirely an attempt to drive a wedge between South Korea and its allies and nothing more. The various Kim's have always been concerned entirely with, first, maintaining their regime, and second, finding a way for their regime to unite and control all of Korea.

I trust her assessment. North Korea is feeling cornered and trying to force some distance between South Korea and its allies. So long as that violent sociopath who reportedly uses dogs as a means of execution and has showed no trepidation about murdering his own family is in charge, all North Korean actions must be looked at with his personality and psyche in mind.

A unification will never happen under North Korean rule, so I don't see how it could drive allies away. It is all up to North Korea of how much they want to commit. It's probably just a distraction to get some heat off their backs, but wouldn't it be cool if it wasn't?

I tend to look to defectors and such for their understanding of the regime... that spy who famously blew up a plane a couple decades ago (to prevent the Olympics in South Korea from taking place) and survived a cyanide capsule believes this is entirely an attempt to drive a wedge between South Korea and its allies and nothing more. The various Kim's have always been concerned entirely with, first, maintaining their regime, and second, finding a way for their regime to unite and control all of Korea.

I trust her assessment. North Korea is feeling cornered and trying to force some distance between South Korea and its allies. So long as that violent sociopath who reportedly uses dogs as a means of execution and has showed no trepidation about murdering his own family is in charge, all North Korean actions must be looked at with his personality and psyche in mind.

A unification will never happen under North Korean rule, so I don't see how it could drive allies away. It is all up to North Korea of how much they want to commit. It's probably just a distraction to get some heat off their backs, but wouldn't it be cool if it wasn't?

I wonder how South Koreans think about this.

I think it's cool to see Koreans competing together regardless, but I don't believe this actually leads to anything so long as Kim and his regime are in charge. In their ideal world South Koreans choose the possibility of reunification over maintaining their relationships with their allies, but that won't be happening.

If Norh Korea came out and actually stated they were interested in some form of reunification that does not include Mighty Leader ruling both (undermining their carefully cultivated cult of personality) I might actually perk up and look into it, but they've avoided any comment whatsoever on the nature of that reunification, instead essentially just making a list of demands disguised as attempts at improving relations lol

A unification will never happen under North Korean rule, so I don't see how it could drive allies away. It is all up to North Korea of how much they want to commit. It's probably just a distraction to get some heat off their backs, but wouldn't it be cool if it wasn't?

I wonder how South Koreans think about this.

I think it's cool to see Koreans competing together regardless, but I don't believe this actually leads to anything so long as Kim and his regime are in charge. In their ideal world South Koreans choose the possibility of reunification over maintaining their relationships with their allies, but that won't be happening.

If Norh Korea came out and actually stated they were interested in some form of reunification that does not include Mighty Leader ruling both (undermining their carefully cultivated cult of personality) I might actually perk up and look into it, but they've avoided any comment whatsoever on the nature of that reunification, instead essentially just making a list of demands disguised as attempts at improving relations lol

Maybe we'll just have to wait for his death for something real to happen.